A Castle from Ruins
by zoe.tiger
Summary: Becoming China's most notorious villains isn't the most easy way of life. It is a path full of pain and betrayal, one of death and suffering. In the hardest times, the three sisters can only rely on each other. From uprising assassins to rule of the underworld. From aimless wanderers to legends.
1. Chapter 1

"Run, you idiots! RUN!"

Same thing, different night. Being on the run, chased by some gang of bandits- nothing new.

Certain parts of the criminal community weren't too fond of some uprising assassins but the dislike was mutual.

Some even rumored that the three leopards saw it all as a sort of game. The hunt had no end, no use. They knew that. Wherever they went there would be people who would want them dead. They were seen as a threat and whoever was chasing them was driven by fear.

Such a thing could be taken with pride- and oh did Su do just that. Knowledge of them spread like a virus. Sooner or later every criminal in all of China will tremble as soon as they hear the name Wu Sisters.

The sisters were different from the usual assassins one would find lurking around, waiting for whatever jobs they could get. It might have been great for marketing themselves to the people willing to pay for their services but not to earn sympathy points.

If there was one thing people collectively hated it was something the didn't know or understand.

While the clients were more than satisfied, those who stood on the outside were weirded out by their success at best. They couldn't comprehend how three young, untrained girls with little to no experience could have such a high kill count.

But their opinions didn't matter, because as soon as the chase ended and the sisters have had their moment of victory, that triumph would be all the masses would remember. Being hunted down was a _calculated risk_ as they called it.

Escaping a situation that seems like a dead-end was what the three sisters were best at.

"Cliff", Su said in a disturbingly calm tone. It was an order.

Wing looked over her shoulder at the group of bandits with a wide grin. "Oh, this is going to be good!" She turned back to her sisters, picking up speed. "What are we waiting for? Let's give these jerks a good show!"

Out of all three of them, Wing was the one who enjoyed these chases the most. Adrenalin was like a drug to her. She would laugh in the face of danger before even wasting a thought on acknowledging the potential harm that could come from it.

Wan, on the other hand, was not much of a fan of their current situation. The thick fog that made every hard to see didn't cheer her up either. "For two seconds, could you two take this seriously?!"

A gentle nudge from Su got her to speed up as well. "We are. But instead of worrying, we need to keep moving faster."

They took a sharp turn right, changing their previous plan of heading for a nearby mountain top where they would have had the chance to hide in one of the caves.

Both plans would have been a safe call for them but the one they- or rather Su- chose to take was the more _dramatic_ way to escape.

Why anyone in their right mind would even come to the genius idea of chasing three snow leopards trough the mountains was far beyond them. All they knew was that it gave them the advantage they needed.

"Twelve", Su started counting down the meters left until something Wing called their _grand finale_.

She slowed down, temporarily becoming the sole focus of their followers.

"You're gonna need more than a bandaid around your ear once we're done with you!"

Su simply ignored the comment. With a great jump, she dodged an ax thrown at her with ease.

"Six."

"Wow, rude much?"

Despite letting out a somewhat nervous laugh at her sister's antics, Wan voiced some kind of disapproval. "Wing, I think it's better if keep your eyes at what's in front of you."

Their older sister suddenly spun around with the ax in her hand and a devilish smile as she was about the throw it back at the buffalo it belonged to.

The sounds of an aching scream echoed through the mountains when the weapon hit his chest full force. Just the way she liked it.

Sooner or later all of their enemies would meet the same faith.

Su gave them a warning hiss before catching up with her sisters.

"Jump!"

There wasn't really a need -or the time- to think as they more or less flung themselves off the cliff. Landing on their feet, they slid down the side of the mountain in a low stance with their followers cheering in the distance, thinking the sisters didn't survive the fall, unknowing that the three had pulled this trick several times before.

They bust out laughing as soon as they came to a stop, letting themselves fall into the soft snow.

Wan removed her mask with a sigh of relieve. She grinned from ear to ear as she glanced over at Su. "Remind me to never complain again if you make us learn a map by heart."

Su chuckled a little at her remark. "Good because we'll have to do that now." She threw a hand around her sisters to pull them in, whispering as she proceeded to end the little break and get going. "So what do you say? Let's find a place to set up camp."

"Wy are we still standing here then?" Wing jumped up, ready to march right into the next big city to buy food and everything else the needed, acting as if nothing had happened.

They were already used to a life on the run. They never stayed in one place for too long, whether it was because people tried to chase them away or that they simply got bored with the area. Traveling all across China helped their career and to gain some useful experience. It might have been a little chaotic from time to but they enjoyed it for the most part.

Although sometimes, the sisters -especially Wan- did play around with the thought of settling down in one place for a longer time.

It just happened that they haven't found such a place yet.

The hated the coast. Hated big cities but also didn't want to live in the middle of nowhere. The loved the great, cold mountain chains but didn't want to deal with the inconveniences coming with living there. The sisters were also bored with forests and yet couldn't imagine living on plain ground.

Su stood up too, dusting herself off. "Eager as always", she remarked under her breath.

But before she could catch up with Wing, Wan grabbed her by the arm, stopping her big sister in her tracks. "Wait. We haven't decided about the length of our stay."

Su rolled her eyes with a smile before letting out a small sigh of defeat. "I was hoping you forgot that." She grabbed a dagger from her belt, playing around with the handle for a second.

"You know the drill; if the handle points to the mountain, our stay will be temporary. If it points towards the path before us, we're staying for as long as we can."

It was a little thing Wan came up with. Su would throw a spinning knife and the position it landed in would decide their next move. What Wan did not account for was that Su would manage to throw her dagger so it would always land the way she wanted to.

The eldest sister didn't think that staying in one spot permanently was safe enough just yet. Tracking them would become a lot easier so they would either need to find a place that no one would want to set foot in or build a house that would be incredibly hard to enter- and they didn't have any knowledge of architecture.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she threw the weapon up way over her head.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment as the blade spun in the air. There was a moment of silence when it landed before Wan suddenly burst out cheering.

Su's eyes went wide.

The knife pointed towards the path, she had messed up on the throw. She messed up on her entire plan. And she needed to find a way to fix it.

"Well uhm-", the snow leopard cleared her throat, "we might not find the perfect place today but-"

"Who cares?" Wan was practically jumping of joy as she took the lead and headed for the city in the distance as Wing had done a couple of moments ago.

Su picked up the dagger with her tail, almost frozen in place. This was not the way she wanted things to go. She hated change and she hated not knowing what to do next.

Wing patted her on the back. "Well, looks like fate is not on your side this time."

Of course, she knew Su tricked them all along.

"No." Su stuck the dagger back on her belt and returned to her usual blank face. "It wasn't fate", she declared. "I just threw the stupid thing too hard."

"Or your confidence got the best of you."

"Yes, yes. Whatever."

The city they arrived in was surprisingly small and yet still very busy late in the night. It was probably for the better as no-one seemed to recognize them.

After a quick discussion of what they would need the three sisters separated. Wan took care of getting something to eat, Wing went searching for a map and something to make a makeshift tent with and Su proceeded to spy on the people to get some information about the area and or to see with there were any potential clients.

She noticed right away that even though the residents didn't know who they were, they acted quite weird around the sisters. The crowd would split as the snow leopards walked by, window blinds would close, a lot of people would try to avoid even eye contact.

Whoever these people were, they certainly weren't used to seeing people aside from the common ducks, pigs and little bunnies.

_"Definitely no clients here."_

Su tried to be completely unphased by all of it but one certain comment caught her attention.

There was a conversation about some kind of "freaks" that once lived near the town some time ago she overheard coming from a group of people watching them from afar. It sounded wrong on more than one level.

She didn't know what they meant but she knew it didn't sound good and would cause them trouble in the future.

_"Don't make me burn down this town within the first hour." _

They were used to being the topic of conversation but they hadn't been compared to anyone before.

It creeped her out. Su was used to hearing people plotting behind someone's backs- there was hardly anything else to be heard in a criminal bar- and from what she has picked up on, the conversations here sounded like the town's people were up to no good.

The glances she received were those of frightened people but the looks her little sisters were met with read like threats. Su was starting to have a hard time keeping it together. Her focus went from spying on the people to make sure no-one was going lay a single finger on her sisters.

The idea of setting fore to the place started to look more and more appealing.

The more time the sisters spend there, the more uncomfortable they started to become.

Wan felt the urge to double-check the food to make sure it wasn't poisoned, Wing had an awfully hard time to get her hands on any kind of map that was at least somewhat helpful and Su was slowly starting to become sick and tired of being watched.

Something just didn't seem right.

_"Maybe the locals just weren't all too fond of outsiders"_, the youngest sister had told herself.

One thing was for sure; they didn't want to stay there any more than necessary.

Despite some difficulties, they managed to gather everything they needed in record time.

It wasn't much but it was enough to keep well-fed for a week and to set up a small tent.

They slept on a nearby field, knowing that they had all the time in the world to decide where to go and what to do.

The three snow leopards hardly had the privilege of a good night's rest. Whether it was because they were busy with assassination, theft, running; they rarely had any truly peaceful moment.

Wing and Wan only rose at noon while Su already left the tent early in the morning, making breakfast and studying the map.

Just like the city something seemed to be wrong with the map. She had held it into the light, compared it to bigger maps of the province but she couldn't figure out what it was.

"I hate this place." With a frustrated groan, she let herself fall into the grass next to the campfire. "No way am I allowing my sisters to stay here."

"As if you have much of a say in that."

Wing's comment made her jump a little. With a sigh, Su swallowed whatever salty comment she would have made under normal circumstances. "Good morning to you too, sister dear." She patted the ground next to her. "Sit down. The dumplings are ready and Wan should wake up any second."

"Oh, she already is." She joined Su's side, watching her as she separated the food in three bowls.

"I see she takes her time getting out of bed again." Su chuckled a little as she eyed the tent to see if their little sister was at least starting to get dressed. "Not that I blame her."

She passed Wing her dumplings before turning her attention back to the map she had previously dropped into the grass.

Wing leaned over her shoulder with a certain curiosity. She eyed the piece of paper, not fully understanding the hint of frustration that started to show up on her sister's face. "Is something wrong? Did that weird goat lady give me a false one?"

"It's not completely wrong." Su laid the map on the ground and pointed at a spot about a day's walk from their makeshift camp. "See this?"

"There is nothing there", her little sister simply remarked.

"Exactly."

Wing rapidly blinked at her as she didn't understand how something so obvious would have any meaning. She picked up the map, turning it in different angles as if that would help her see what Su was getting at. "I…don't think I follow."

"As far as I know the area isn't used for farming", Su pointed out, "If it was empty land there would be dirt roads going through it- I'm sure there is hardly any way for handlers to get to the city."

Wing only nodded in understanding.

"Can I see that map?"

Wan came marching out of the tent with her usual big smile, mask in her hand as she was still in the middle of brushing the fluffy fur on her cheek. She sandwiched herself between her two big sisters and picked up the sheet of paper.

"So what's the big deal?"

Wing shoved the map more towards her before repeating what Su had said to her. "See this?"

There was a moment of silence was Wan was eying the map. She raised an eyebrow, simply pointing out that, "There is supposed to be a lake in that area."

"What?" Wing tilted her head at her. "Why would they leave that off the map?"

Wan simply shrugged. "I don't know. I know that there is a lake on the map that shows the entire province."

Suddenly Su snatched the map off the ground, stuffing it under her belt and earning herself some confused glances. Turns out she now had one more reason to dislike this place. Part of her was trying to think it was just a systematic mistake in the production while the rest of her common sense paired up with her usual paranoia, thinking back to how the townspeople had acted.

Something wasn't right.

"Freaks", she whispered to herself. "They kept mentioning freaks."

"Your point being? I mean other than that the town is high-key unwelcoming", Wing asked around a mouth full of dumplings.

Su rolled her eyes, taking a bit of breakfast herself. "What I mean is that they are hiding something."

"Or trying to send a signal to not go there", Wan softly remarked. "What if those freaks are dangerous people?"

Out of the three, she was the most careful. Wing was best described as living in the moment and Su was one to take calculated risks but never to step back when it came to facing a challenge.

Wing softly punched her in the shoulder. "So are we."

"You're missing the point. Su, please. Don't make me be the voice of reason again."

Su only gave them a blank look, jumping to her feet. She grabbed the dagger from her belt. "If it points left, we are avoiding that place. If it points right, we're going."

"Oh hell no. We are _not_ doing that now." Wan almost managed to snatch the blade from her sister's hand but it was already too late. The small weapon was already in the air, about to decide whether or not they would casually jump into potential danger.

Two things happened when it finally landed; Wan started to regret ever inventing this method of deciding things while Wing was a little too pleased with the fact that her plan for the day turned reality.

The youngest sister sighed, shaking her head a little. "Su, didn't you tell us we should try to be more careful?", she asked, hoping that pointing out the hypocrisy would somehow change their minds."

Su didn't respond at first as she took her time placing the dagger back on her belt. She turned around, picking up Wan's mask from the ground before carefully pulling it over her sister's head.

"It's a calculated risk", she finally said. "It simply could be a place that people avoid. Or those freaks could be people similar to us- maybe that's why the townspeople were uneasy around us. Or whoever lives there could want to take revenge on that town and pay us a lot of money."

She placed her paws on her little sister's shoulders. "I won't let anything happen to the two of you." Her voice became a lot softer when she said that. "I promise."

"Yeah we got each other's backs!", Wing chimed in, "So you might as well get the 'ready to go' attitude you had when going into that city back out again."

Wan looked up with a bittersweet smile, shaking her head in defeat. "Why can't I ever say no to the two of you?"

"Because we are irresistible", Wing declared with a wide grin and threw an arm around her sister.

Su had stepped away, already thinking about the fastest way to get everything done she had planned for that day. If she remembered correctly, they were a few miles away from a well-known black market. They would surely able to find work there- maybe even a place to stay if they were lucky.

The three of them should have been able to make it to the market by dawn if they were fast enough. Unless exploring the mystery place would come with complications.

She looked over her shoulder. "Let's not waste too much time", she said. "We'll finish breakfast and head out."


	2. Chapter 2

The closer they got to their destination, the deeper they went into the forest.

While they had no problems navigating through the thick vegetation, it certainly wasn't what they were expecting.

It made no sense. If there were truly people living there, they must be keeping to themselves so much and be so independent, that they seemingly didn't need any connections to the outside world.

And if there were no people living there, leaving a simple lake off of a map was nothing other than senseless.

Maybe their curiosity was leading them into the middle of nowhere."

But there was something off about the forest itself. Some of the trees were tall enough to block out any ray of sunshine while others were barely up to the sisters' shoulders. On its own, that would not have been unusual, but the small trees stood in two perfect lines on what could have been an old dirt road at some point.

It had enough impact to make Su stop worrying about a potential ambush and instead let her thoughts be occupied with finding a possible explanation of this strange place.

Eventually, the line of small trees ended rather abruptly and the could see what seemed to be a learning in the distance.

"Stay together", Su ordered with a low growl, her voice barely above a whisper, her mind now fully focused on their 'mission' again.

She sniffed the air to decipher whether or not anyone was following them.

Nothing.

Her attention turned to Wing for a brief second. "You know what to do if you hear anything."

"I've got your back if you decide to take the offensive."

She turned to Wan next. "Will you be my eyes?"

"As always", the youngest sister declared with a bright smile.

Su stopped in her tracks for a moment, taking a breath. "Let's make this quick. I don't plan on wasting any more time in this forest."

They found something they didn't want to find.

Su found it nothing but useless. Nothing but a waste of their time. Not worth the travel.

Wing thought the place was awesome. Definitely not something they needed but certainly a potential entertainment.

And Wan- Wan didn't like that lake at all. It freaked her out if anything.

With a disappointed look, Su slumped down a fallen tree trunk. "Great. We just found a destroyed village."

She let her legs slump down into the tall grass as she took a look around the ruins. Some of the houses were still partially standing while others had collapsed into little pieces. Vegetation was slowly starting to take over the place.

As tragic as the sight might have been the scenery was actually quite nice. The flowers blooming in between the moss-covered ruins, the sunlight dancing on the water, the peaceful emptiness of the former village- they all made everything seem so calm. It almost seemed like something out of a fairy tale.

Su had wanted a place for them to stay where no one would ever bother them and these ruins might have been the perfect spot in that regard. It wouldn't be something to brag about but it would work for the time being.

But the more she looked at what was presented before her, the more questions started to creep out from the back of her head.

Something was off about that place.

The snow leopard frowned, her eyes drifting to the big lake next to the former village.

Wing had already started to wander through the ruins to take a closer look at their findings. "There was a fire", she yelled over her shoulder, tapping on what seemed to be the remains of a staircase.

"Looks like we've walked into the aftermath of a big accident", Wan softly whispered as she joined their older sister.

Su kept her eyes fixed on the water, seemingly not even caring about what was around it anymore.

The conversations she overheard the previous day. _Freaks. They kept mentioning freaks_.

"Not an accident", she corrected. "Genocide."

"This trip just went from good to great", Wing chimed in with her usual excited tone. "You think we can find some skeletons?"

"What- no! Su, seriously, why must you always think of the worst possible explanation for everything?"

She turned to Wan with a somewhat perplexed expression. "Because I'm always right about it." Su paused for a second before pointing at the lake. "I highly doubt an entire village can burn o with this much water nearby. Besides, don't you think the fire would have spread to the forest if that was the case?"

The youngest sister seemed to think about it for a second. "But…who would burn down this village? And why?"

Su shrugged, dismissing the question. "I don't know and I don't care. All that matters is that this place has no use for us." _And I now have one more reason not to let you stay here._

Her attention turned to Wing, who was busy exploring the green ruins, unbothered by her sisters' conversation."Sister dear, what did I tell you about sticking together?", she asked with a hint of annoyance.

Wing dropped the piece of burned wood she was examining with a sigh of defeat. "You are not fun. Why not check this place out if we're already here? Maybe there is still some stuff around here that was spared by the fire."

"Oh yeah why not just casually engage in grave robbing" Wan interjected.

"It's not grave robbing unless there is a grave."

"I don't want to _find_ a grave, Wing."

"Girls, please." Su held back a chuckle as she stepped between them. Her little sisters' small bickerings tended to entertain her most of the time. "Just make my life easy for five seconds and behave until we reach our next stop."

* * *

Su rubbed her eyes, not even bothered to try and hide her disappointment. "Out of all the places to stop at, it had to be some underground bar." She paused, sighing in defeat. "Wing I swear this is the last time I let you pick the location we're going to."

"Pretty sure you said that the last twenty times", the middle sister. She happily grabbed the small menu in front of them to flip through it again, just to waste more time. "Besides, as long as we can get food it doesn't even matter."

Wan simply rolled her eyes with a smile. _Every time__. Every single time. _

"On the bright side they have cheap desserts- and you promised us cake."

"You forced me to promise you cake", Su quickly declared. "However I did not agree to-"

She stopped mid-sentence when the waitress finally arrived at the table.

The sisters looked the small fox up and down, making her wince a little.

Su leaned back in her seat once she was satisfied. Wan shortly turned her attention back to looking around.

Wing was left as the only one to address her. "Yes hi, we'd like to order three of those…tofu thingies", she said, pointing at the menu. "Oh, and two-" she paused, looking at Su who only gave her a small nod. "_Three_ pieces of chocolate cake."

"You three aren't from around here, are you?", the waitress hesitantly asked before even noting the order.

Wing leaned down to her level and put on her most charming smirk. "Oh trust me, if we were from around her, I would have remembered your pretty little face."

At that point Su was gripping the edge of the table, telling herself to hold back whatever remark was about to come. She had made a point not to criticize her sister's behavior but sometimes, Wing was really pushing it. _At this rate, I won't be able to take her anywhere._

For some odd reason, Wing's cheap pick up line had worked on the fox as she turned into a blushing, giggling mess and quickly hurried away with their order after voicing her hopes of seeing the idle sister more often in the future.

Naturally, it did nothing but boosting the snow leopard's ego- not that it would have needed too much boost.

"I told you I'm irresistible", she proudly proclaimed.

Wan waved her gloating off with a sarcastic tone. "Yes, yes. You are the dream of everyone who has a decent taste. Now would you be so kind and get us the drinks you forgot to order?"

"Got it." And with that, Wing jumped up from her chair. "A round of drinks for our older sister who is about to lose all faith in me and my favorite alcoholic."

"Who are you calling an alcoholic, slut?", Wan jokingly asked, sticking her tongue out at her.

Wing clutched her chest in fake hurt. "You're mean!" But she went on her way to complete the quest anyways.

Su sighed, letting her head fall back. This day wasn't going exactly as she planned. Their trip was nothing but a major set back and they still had a fairly long way until they reached their next destination. Not only that but they needed to find clients.

She looked around the bar, scanning for anyone that could probably be of any use for them.

"Watching the fight?", Wan asked, pointing at a group of bulls pushing each other around.

"Just thinking", Su simply answered. She wasn't one to be entertained by bar fights.

There was a moment of silence before Wan hesitantly uttered the next question. "How's the ear?"

Su jumped a little, turning her head back to her sister. The snow leopard reached for her ear and softly traced her bandaid. "It's…fine."

"It's not infected again, is it?"

"It doesn't _feel_ infected." She smiled a little at her sister's concern. "Why, do you want to cut out even more of it?"

The youngest sister crossed her arm in defense. "It looked bad", she paused for a second, thinking of a good comeback. "Besides, a clearcut will look better than a ripped out wound."

"Anything would look better than that", Su said under her breath.

Wing came back with a tray of drinks which she would have swiftly slammed down on the table if the glasses weren't full. "As requested, my ladies", she said with a bow.

"How much did you pay for these?", Wan asked with a hint of suspicion as she eyed the full tray.

Wing simply dropped back in her seat and took one of the drinks. "Nothing at all."

"You flirted with the barkeeper, didn't you?" It was a rhetorical question. Su already knew the answer.

"He gave me all these free drinks so you shouldn't be complaining."

* * *

The good thing was that they had found the path leading to the black market Su planned to head to. The bad thing was that they had wasted so much time that they had to et camp for the night.

They were in the mile of some woods yet again, the only difference was that they had a good idea of what was in them.

So they set up their tent without any worries of walking into something they didn't want to see.

Wan had made the decision to stay close to the dirt road so that the three of them could get going as fast as possible.

They went to sleep soon after, squeezing themselves into the small tent. Their hopes of getting a good rest were low, to begin with, but neither of the sisters expected being woken up in the middle of the night by what sounded like someone sneaking around in the woods.

"I'll go look", Su declared before anyone else could say anything.

She was sure that taking matters into her own hands would have been the fastest approach- and considering the snow leopard wanted nothing more than to go back to bed, she wanted this to be done as soon as possible.

Su climbed out of the tent, stretching as she looked around. "I'll be back in a bit. Just go back to sleep."

Soon enough she had found footprints on the dirt road next to the camp. While they were leading away from their tent, Su still decided to follow them.

_Who in their right mind is wandering around these woods in the middle of the night?_

Whoever it was, they were traveling alone.

Her senses were heightened as she stalked along the path, ready to go into battle or fight of an ambush. Su held her breath and listened for anything that would be out of the ordinary.

Somehow, the noises had disappeared, even though the footprints continued.

Maybe the person she followed was onto her.

_No. That can't be. _

She shook the thought off. Su was an assassin who mostly used her stealth for man-hunting. There was no way some random person in the woods would have noticed her.

Slowly, her curiosity began to grow. Adrenalin filled her veins as she seemingly came closer to her target. The snow leopard had set her mind; whoever she was after, she would make them regret coming close to their camp.

Maybe this would provide an opportunity to let out her frustration.

Maybe this little chase would get her mind off of what was going on.

Su always felt a sick enjoyment when tracking someone down. It was an advantage if it came to her profession but has also got her in trouble a fair amount of time.

Yet again her and was racing with possible scenarios the inevitable fight with her target would go down. Ways of how she would deliver the final blow. She wanted to make it quick but at the same time, the snow leopard desired entertainment after everything that day.

In a matter of seconds, the choice to go for the throat was made.

Suddenly, she could make out a silhouette in the distance.

To her surprise, the tall figure didn't seem to be armed.

_Well, well. This is indeed going to be fast._

Su hid behind a tree, patiently waiting for her target to come close enough and walk into her trap. She took a deep breath as she got in position. The snow leopard was prepared to jump and tear down her target.

Her pupils narrowed into thin lines, her claws were out and ready to slash through flesh.

_Three._

The sound of footsteps came closer.

_Two._

Su pushed herself away from the tree.

_One._

She jumped into action, lunging at her target. They landed with a hard thud on the dirt road. Su raised her hand to stick down and end the intruder below her before they could even blink but-

She stopped the motion midway.

The snow leopard froze as she examined the person below her. A startled water deer was looking back at her.

Something about her had caught Su's attention. If it wasn't for the deer's warm, brown eyes she would have managed to somewhat intimidate the leopard.

Her eyes wandered over her face, settling at the long tusk- well one tusk. The broken tooth pointed towards a lifestyle of fighting. She was wearing some kind of dark green uniform that made her blend in with the dark woods. Next to her laid a large, white bag that the deer has dropped at Su forced her to the ground.

But before Su would do anything else, she was swiftly thrown off. Luckily, she managed to land on her hands and feet, assuming a ready stance and blocking the path. She wasn't going to back down that easily. Her opponent might have been a head taller than her but Su had killed people twice her size before.

"Out of my way", the deer warned in a low voice as she picked up the bag she next to her.

Su gave her a low growl. "First you are going to tell me what you are doing sneaking around our camp."

"_You_ were the one who decided setting cam next to a road was a good idea" the answer came without missing a beat and did nothing but anger the snow leopard even more.

"And you really shouldn't have said that."

...

Wan sleepily looked around in the tent. She must have dozed off soon after Su left. Rubbing her eyes, she softly nudged her sleeping sister. "Wing?", she whispered.

"Mmmm five more minutes." The middle sister simply rolled around.

"Wing this is important." Wan started to sound more concerned as she continued to speak. "Su isn't back yet." She sat up, searching for her mask. "I think we should look."

A firm grip on her wrist held her back from getting out of the tent. Wing shook her head and gently pushed her back down on the sleeping at. "It's Su we are talking about. She knows how to take care of herself as much as she knows how to take care of us", she reassured her little sister with a warm smile. "But if it makes you feel better, we'll rush to her rescue if she isn't back in five minutes."

"_Three_ minutes."

...

Su's back hit one of the trees with a loud thud, a groan of pain escaping her lips. She quickly regained her composition and jumped back into the offensive.

She lunged at the deer with the sole goal to cause as much damage as possible. This was no longer about getting rid of an intruder- this fight has turned into a challenge. A challenge Su was not willing to lose.

Her attack was dodge which send her flying to the ground, forcing her to roll through the dust to get back up on her feet. The snow leopard looked at the blood dripping from her claws. She still managed to inflict a somewhat deep cut on the deer's arm.

And yet it didn't seem to slow her down at all as Su was quickly reduced to holding her arms in front of her in an attempt to block the hits coming at her before she could continue going on the offensive.

_Damn, she's fast!_

Su needed to think of something and she needed to do it quickly. She needed something that would take her opponent by surprise and give her the upper hand.

A risky idea crossed her mind.

For a mere moment, Su intentionally let her guard down, leading her to be swiftly brought down with a final blow.

A foot stomping down on her chest held the leopard down. "I told you to get out of my way."

Su looked up at the panting deer, slightly smiling to herself. This was giving her the perfect chance to turn the tables. "And I'm telling you to stand down."

And with that she wrapped her tail around the challenger's other leg, pulling it out from under her and sending the deer flying to the ground.

"But it seems like you aren't listening."

...

Against her sister's better judgment Wan did end up leaving the tent and forced Wing to come running after her, still half asleep. The two of them wandered through the forest, following the same footprints Su was following not too long ago.

Wan knelt down, examining the tracks. She sighed, looking over her shoulder at her sister who was barely able to keep herself on her feet. "Maybe you were right. A random deer doesn't seem like something Su couldn't take care of."

"Yes, yes. I was right you were wrong." Wing yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Can we go back to bed-"

The sound of something going off suddenly echoed through the quiet woods. The sisters froze in place for a mere second.

Wan searched for the origin of the sound, trying to decipher where it came from and what caused it.

Wing on the other hand suddenly became wide awake, grabbing her little sister and forcefully pulling her up. "Smoke bomb."

"Wha-" Wan didn't get the chance to ask as she was dragged behind Wing, who started running wherever the footprints were leading them.

"You were right, I was wrong!" Wing almost sounded like she was panicking. "Smoke bomb means a possible ambush!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Coward!", Su called out into the darkness, trying to wave away the smoke from her sight.

She definitely didn't expect the deer to just disappear into nothing in the middle of the fight- especially when she was about to get the upper hand.

Su rubbed her shoulder where her opponent had laid the final blow of the fight. She didn't know how she did it but the deer somehow managed to make her entire upper arm go numb. Had they continued their duel, this surely would have put her at a disadvantage.

Yet a strange disappointment began to overcome her. She had been ditched just as the battle was becoming entertaining.

"And here I thought _I_ was rude." Su sighed, dusting herself off as she started to walk back towards their camp.

The snow leopard looked over her shoulder one last time into the direction she presumed her opponent had escaped. Should she do after the deer? Su was never one to leave battle unfinished but was it actually worth it? The only thing she would have gotten out of it would have been a good kick some entertainment. Usually, Su wouldn't go for anything that wouldn't prove to be useful.

She shook her head, banning the urge to turn around make a run for it from her mind. Her sisters were waiting for her after all.

_Then again…_

But before any decision could be made, the arrival of her little sisters pulled the snow leopard from her thoughts.

Wing was hastily searching the area while Wan tended to Su, roughly grabbing her by the shoulders to get a look at her. Su was more confused by this than by their usual antics but let her little sisters do -whatever it was that they were doing- without any word. Instead, she just stood there, frozen in place, looking back and forth between Wing and Wan.

Wan scanned her body as she was leaning in far beyond the borders of personal space. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?", she asked, clearly distraught. Her heart was racing and she still hadn't caught her breath. Normally, the tables would have been turned and Wan would be the one who was being inspected for any for of injuries.

Blinking, Su softly pushed her little sister away. "Of course I'm alright", the snow leopard responded with the smallest hint of uncertainty. She took her Wan's face in her hands, frowning as she looked into her eyes. "Did you have a nightmare again?"

"We heard the smoke bombs", Wing interrupted.

Without catching a beat, Su had gone back to her usual emotionless facade. "_A_ smoke bomb", she corrected. "The deer I was fighting just ditched on me out of nowhere."

The middle sister suddenly looked starstruck as she uttered a silent "oh". Maybe being half asleep had a bigger effect on her senses than she thought. That or Su's habit of expecting the absolute worst scenario ever was slowly but surely getting to her. "I-…I thought there was an ambush", she admitted, somewhat ashamed. She should have known better than to come to a conclusion so quickly.

But Su was smiling at her anyways. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."

Wing crossed her arms, frowning at her big sister. "Don't mock me."

"You know I'm not." She stepped away from Wan to walk over to Wing instead. She pressed her hand against her sister's back as a way to comfort her. "Better safe than sorry."

Su didn't mind that Wing had copied her overprotective nature- if anything she was more worried about the fact that she and Wan weren't going to get a good night's sleep. Seeing Wing being so worried was however a reminder that the middle sister was capable of more than just reckless antics.

Wing sighed, rolled her eyes as she was trying to hide the small smile that was forming on her lips. "Yeah yeah. Let's just go back to bed already." She was already tired of stepping outside of her careless persona.

* * *

The three sisters arrived at the black market early in the morning, before most handlers have set up their shops and before most costumers started to flood the market.

Su was already busy making a deal with a little fox, who seemed to be in some sort of weird manager cataloging anyone and everyone who decided to provide their services in the market. Her sisters on the other hand were more interested in looking around. While Wan stuck to observing the area from a distance, Wing was happily walking around, talking to whoever came by as she made it her personal goal to find some new potential clients- her charming ways could be "utilized in more useful ways" as Su put it.

At first, her quest seemed like it would end with little to no success. Some people looked that they were interested in the sisters' services but no one had actually offered them a job yet. It was slowly but surely starting to become frustrating. The money they still had would only last them for less than a week so they needed a new client and they needed it as quickly as possible- especially if the market place would demand regular payment to let them stay. With somewhat dwindling determination, the middle sister continued to wander the area.

Slowly costumers started to occupy the market and Wing was eying each and everyone up and down in an attempt to find out whether or not they would hire assassins. The snow leopard mostly saw groups of people walking by, most likely gangs who could either take care of their business themselves or would be convinced that asking for the sisters' services would be a blow at their pride. She kept her distance from them, hiding in the shadows of the tents that served as shop all over the market.

Just as she was about to pause her quest and return to her sisters, an old wolf came into her sight. He pointed at her, ears perking up in curiosity. "You! You are one of those assassins!", he exclaimed in a surprisingly excited manner.

Wing frowned at first. The wolf certainly didn't look like a threat, despite the crossbow he was carrying on his back. He looked like he had already lived way past his prime, his eyes giving off the impression that he was slowly starting to lose his vision. The snow leopard raised her head up high and finally responded. "Well, well. It seems like news travels faster than I thought", she jokingly remarked and offered him her hand. "My name's Wing."

The wolf bowed his head. "Fang, a member of the Yuèliàng pack." There was a certain pride in his voice as he said that last part.

"I take it your pack has a mission for us."

Fang shook his head. "I am the only one giving you a target. But I wish to discuss the job with all three of you."

If it wasn't for his polite tone, Wing would have been offended by that demand. Instead, she simply shrugged, leading the way to where she had left her sisters. "If you insist."

Lucky for her, they arrived just as Su had finished arguing with the fox regarding their stay at the market. "It was about time assassins offered their services at Tuo Luo! I hope the three tents will meet your expectations", the canine called over his shoulder as he left.

"For the price, we're paying you they better be", Su said under her breath.

Wan softly hit her big sister in her side with an elbow, clinging onto her arm to keep the snow leopard calm. Putting her innocent expression back on, she addressed the fox one last time. "Thank you!"

Su rolled her eyes. These people didn't deserve her sister's kindness. However, before she had any chance to complain, her train of thoughts was abruptly interrupted by the sight of Wing dragging someone, who Su assumed to be a client, behind her.

_At least one good thing is coming out of this morning. _

Taking a deep breath, the snow leopard swallowed whatever frustration left in her before addressing the old wolf.

"I take it you want to discuss our services", she said, her voice not reflecting any emotion but confidence.

The canine simply nodded as he was guided into the tent where he was told to sit down at a small table.

Su stood across from him while Wing and Wan sat on the chairs at his sides.

Sensing a rising tension as Su was eying him, Fang glanced at Wing as if to ask whether or not he was allowed to speak. The middle sister only offered the wolf a small, reassuring smile.

Clearing her throat, Fang finally spoke up. "There is this gang boss who has been nothing but a problem for my pack. His name is-"

"We don't care for names", Su harshly interrupted. "What we need is an exact description of what the target looks like."

"A sheep. A sheep who is-", this time Fang cut himself off. He took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut, holding up a hand to signalize he needed a moment. Suddenly a low growl escaped his lips as the wolf stared down at the table with nothing but pure hatred and disgust. "That _bastard_ killed one of our younger boys and if that wasn't enough he started wearing his pelt as a coat."

Wan winced at that description. "But if it's so personal, why don't you do it yourself?", she hesitantly asked.

"I wanted to do it myself. The boy you murdered as a good man. He was…he was-" His voice started to crack, forcing him to stop for a second to regain his composure yet again. The wolf swallowed hard before starting over with a lot less detail this time.

"I overestimated my remaining eyesight. I am no longer able to properly shoot an arrow through his heart like I could in my good days."

Fang turned to Su with a smile that was failing to hide his sadness. "I'm sure _you_ can understand how that feels."

Su frowned at the joke. It has been a while that someone made a comment about her blind eye. "Where do we find him?", she simply asked, not interested in whatever direction this conversation was going.

* * *

Something that the sisters didn't think they would ever have to find out was that finding a sheep in wolf's clothing was proven to be insultingly easy. Their target was practically parading around with his group of bodyguards the entire day. None of them even noticed the three sisters following their group trough the forest.

Su had decided that the assassination should wait until the middle of the night as they have been given a specific way to eliminate him. Fang had handed them his crossbow with the instruction for a kill by an arrow through a heart. Wing had been assigned the position to pull the trigger while Wan and Su stayed on the lookout for any trouble.

The eldest sister lured the group in position. All she had to do was to make some noises in the bushes around the men and get them to back together into a circle, the sheep being in the middle and his five bull guards standing around them with their various weapons pointed towards the darkness of the forest. Finally, the snow leopard threw a rock next to Wing's position to get one of the bodyguards to leave his position to investigate. The open space they involuntarily created was just enough for the middle sister to get a clear shot.

That is if Wing could get her hands to stop shaking. She has killed many before, yes but she has never done so with a crossbow. She _had_ to land a perfect shot through the sheep's heart. This entire mission relied on her abilities, her skills- and her luck, mostly her luck.

Su had trusted her with this and she wasn't about to make her sister regret that decision.

Wing took a deep breath, steadied her hands, and moved the crossbow into position. It's now or never.

Having no more time to waste she finally pulled the trigger, hoping for the best. Her jaw dropped as soon as her she saw where the arrow had hit the target. To her shock, it pierced through the sheep's heart. She watched as his goons gathered around him in panic as they didn't know what to do. One of the bull's made the fatal mistake of pulling the arrow out of his boss' body, doing nothing but dooming him furthermore.

But the chaos was short-lived because when Wing finally realized her success, she couldn't help herself from raising her fist in the air and cried out in joy, immediately regretting what she had done afterward. _Fuck!_

She hastily reloaded the crossbow while also trying to keep an eye on the men blindly stalking towards her. If there was any occasion when Wing was happy that not every species could see in the dark it was now. Even with the light of the torch one of the bulls was carrying the night gave her enough cover. Still, he would have been the first who needed to go down.

So Wing raised the weapon again, firing a shot that was a lot sloppier but still managing to hit the target in the lungs.

The torch fell to the ground along with the bull who was now gasping for air in agony. Without missing a beat, Su tackled the next men trying to get to the light source.

She slashed his throat in a swift motion before being grabbed by the shoulders and pulled off of him by two of his partners. _Oh, now it's on. _

The snow leopard wiggled around until she could get a clear shot with her tail and punch the guy on her left in his guts, making him loosen his grip on her and giving Su enough room to free her arm. She dug her claws into the back of the other bull's neck and swung herself up. Her knee hit his chin with enough force to send him falling to the ground and lose consciousness. The fourth bodyguard came running at her with a raised hammer. He smashed it down with full force, only to have Su jump away last second. Before the bull had a chance to so much as lift up the heavy weapon again, Wan was already on his back. She grabbed him by the horns and pulled his head back with enough force to make him tumble backward.

The youngest sister looked up at Wing as she tried to hold the man in place. "Hurry up, I'm giving you a clear shot here!"

Without a moment of hesitation Wing did as she was told and fired two arrows in the bull's chest.

All three sisters turned their attention to the last remaining man who was now kneeling on the ground with his hands raised above his head and his sword dropped to the ground. Su was the one to walk up to him, claws ready to slice through his flesh. She was ready to hear him beg for his life.

His pleading meant nothing to her. It changed nothing, no begging ever did.

She looked into his fear-filled eyes as she slashed his throat, the sound of him choking on his own blood oddly satisfying.

The snow leopard finally turned back to her sisters after the bull stopped moving. "Let's get over with this, shall we?"

Aside from giving them a specific way to end their target, Fang made an extra request. He wanted the sisters to do to the sheep what he did to his friend.

"Soooo…who is going to do it?", Wan hesitantly asked.

Wing jumped down from the tree, leaning on the crossbow as she checked her claws as a way to avoid having to look at their target's dead body. "I delivered the killing strike so count me out. One of you will have to skin him."

"Very well." Su reached for her dagger. "Whoever it points to."

She flung the blade up into the air, watching her youngest sister following the weapon's movement anxiously. Wan looked like she was about to throw up just thinking about the task at hand.

Before the knife could reach the ground, Su grabbed it mid-air. She gave her sister a small smirk as she pressed the handle to her chest.

"Don't worry, I'll do it."

There was a moment of short-lived relief before Wan punched her big sister in the shoulder. "You're a jerk for doing that, you know?"

* * *

Fang has paid him even more generously than he had promised, even doing them the extra service of spreading the word of their services. Within less than two months, the sisters had the luxury of selecting which clients they would accept. It felt unreal, like a miracle almost. Staying in that place was starting to become quite profitable. Maybe life was being kind to them for once.

For the first time in ever they actually had enough money -and a constant flow of it- to live a good life.

Wing and Wan wanted to spend some of it decorating their tents, seeing as their living space was hardly one they liked to spend much time in.

Su's was somewhat bigger as it became their main place of operation, a paper wall with a fancy landscape painting being the only thing that hid the bedroom area but that was the only thing special about the place. Wing's tent was the comfiest. A place where one would actually like to spend a night. And Wan's was the only one that actually resembled a small house.

When the younger sisters weren't invested in their new silly passion for home decor, they were planing some potential girls nights out. As unnecessary as they seemed to Su, she couldn't deny how endearing it was. Not being on the run was strange. The little security they had felt unfamiliar.

But it felt nice. Unreal but nice. Maybe that's why Su allowed herself to be dragged up the hills behind the market to watch the sunset. Or let her sisters make her run around Tuo Luo in the dark.

Wan hung onto her arm, gasping in a mixture of surprise and joy. She stopped in her tracks and point at a tent they seemed to be new on the market. "Look a fortune teller!"

"Oooh, I want to try it out!", Wing happily joined in, leaning over Su's shoulder. "The tent is still open, I'm sure they can squeeze us in."

Su rolled her eyes and shook her head. "So now we are just throwing our money out the window for some scam?"

"Pleeeaaaaseee?"

Suddenly, there was a flash of red light coming from the tent, followed by a thin line of smoke. The three sisters just stood there in shock as they watched the light slowly become dimmer. Before they could wrap their heads around what was going on, a female voice, who they figured must have been the fortune teller in question, addressed them. "Come on girls, I don't have all night." Her voice was raspy, sounded old and she spoke with a harsh accent that they had never heard before.

"Well looks like we have an invitation. It would be rude to ignore it", Wing paused, softly pushing Su into the direction of the tent. "and we don't want to be rude towards someone who knows magic."

Su rubbed her eyes with a groan of annoyance. "Pretty sure that was more chemistry than magic", she mumbled under her breath.


End file.
